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L'Union européenne a finalement ajouté à sa liste des "organisations terroristes" l'ancien Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK) et le Parti-Front de libération révolutionnaire populaire (DHKP-C). Le gouvernement d'Ankara et les médias turcs avaient, même sans attendre la publication de la liste officielle, s'étaient déclaré victorieux contre le terrorisme.
Soumission européenne aux chantages de l'Etat turc
L'Union européenne a finalement ajouté à sa liste des "organisations terroristes" l'ancien Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), qui vient de se muer en Congrès pour la liberté et la démocratie au Kurdistan (KADEK) après une lutte armée de 15 ans contre la répression nationale ainsi que le Parti-Front de libération révolutionnaire populaire (DHKP-C), une organisation de gauche radicale prônant la lutte armée contre la terreur d'Etat dont les membres mènent actuellement une grève de la faim contre le régime carcéral qui a déjà fait 90 victimes.
Le gouvernement d'Ankara et les médias turcs avaient, même sans attendre la publication de la liste officielle, s'étaient déclaré victorieux contre le terrorisme. "Les assassins sur la liste de l'Union européenne," titre à la une le journal à gros tirage Hurriyet. "L'UE a finalement réparé son erreur", titre pour sa part le journal Sabah.
Le ministre des affaires étrangères Ismail Cem a déjà annoncé à Ankara que cette décision communautaire constituerait un tournant dans les relations turco-européennes et les négociations d'adhésion pourraient commencer très prochainement.
Dans "la réparation de son erreur", Bruxelles a pris un autre pas pour satisfaire les dirigeants d'Ankara. Un porte-parole de la Commission européenne a annoncé hier que le président de la Commission européenne, Romano Prodi, se rendrait en visite officielle en Turquie les 18 et 19 juillet. La visite de Prodi à Ankara donnera l'occasion de faire le point sur la candidature turque à l'Union européenne (UE), a-t-il précisé.
D'ailleurs, le président de la Commission européenne, Romano Prodi, et le président du gouvernement espagnol, José Maria Aznar, ont pu se prévaloir hier de l'accord sur la liste lors de leur rencontre à Washington avec le président américain George W. Bush, qui exerçait une pression énorme sur Bruxelles pour que ces deux organisations soient incluses dans "la liste des groupes terroristes" et que les négociations d'adhésion avec Ankara se démarrent dans les meilleurs délais.
La contre-guérilla, les escadrons de la mort, les Loups Gris, ou sont-ils?
La soumission européenne aux chantages d'Ankara et aux pressions des Etats-Unis constitue un véritable scandale, car la violation des droits de l'Homme continue sans cesse en Turquie et le pays est toujours dirigé par une alliance militaro-fasciste qui se déclare souvent ennemi farouche des valeurs démocratiques européennes et impose tout ce qu'elle veut par le biais du Conseil national de la Sûreté (MGK).
Pour la violation des droits de l'Homme, nous conseillons aux dirigeants européens ainsi qu'à nos lecteurs de jeter un coup d'úil sur le rapport de l'Association des droits de l'Homme de Turquie (IHD) pour l'année 2001 repris sur Internet (http://www.info-turk.be/flash.htm). ainsi que sur les informations diffusées systématiquement par Info-Türk sur Internet (http://www.info-turk.be/bulletins.htm).
D'ailleurs, si l'Union européenne devait ajouter à sa liste quelques organisations terroristes de Turquie, elle pourrait y commencer avec l'inclusion des organisations paramilitaires comme l'Organisation de contre-guérilla, les unités spéciales et les protecteurs de village créés et soutenus par l'Armée turque avec l'appui des gouvernements successifs d'Ankara depuis afin d'écraser les mouvements démocratiques kurdes et de gauche.
Les organisations de "Loups Gris", responsables de plus de cinq mille morts et instigatrices du coup d'état militaire de 1980, elles aussi, méritent parfaitement une place privilégiée sur la liste de "groupes terroristes" de l'Union européenne, car elles se sont parfaitement implantées dans tous les pays européens y compris la Belgique et y ont commis plusieurs actes de violence.
Or, le parti politique des Loups Gris, le parti d'action nationaliste (MHP), en tant que partenaire principal du gouvernement actuel d'Ecevit, est un des interlocuteurs privilégiés des Etats-Unis et de l'Union européenne malgré toutes ses provocations anti-européennes.
Ce qui est le plus grave est ce que plusieurs terroristes et criminels
font partie du groupe parlementaire du MHP, notamment:
Les parlementaires du MHP oeuvrent actuellement pour que plusieurs
terroristes du MHP comme Mehmet Ali Agca, qui avait ouvert le feu sur Jean
Paul II en 1981, et Haluk Kirci, en prison pour le meurtre de sept militants
de gauche à la fin des années 70, soient également
libérés en bénéficiant d'une loi d'amnistie
cosmétique, alors que tous les prisonniers de gauche ou kurdes sont
maintenus dans la prison.
"A bas Heider, Berlusconi, Le Pen! Vive les militaristes turcs! Vive les Loups Gris!"
L'Union européenne accueille les parlementaires du MHP comme interlocuteurs "négociables" au sein de la Commission parlementaire mixte turco-européenne. Les ministres du MHP, notamment le ministre de la Défense Cakmakoglu, sont très fréquemment à Bruxelles ou dans les autres capitales européennes comme des hommes d'Etat crédibles qui s'y prononcent sur les mesures à prendre contre le terrorisme!
Ce sont "loups Gris" qui, il y a quelques années, ont incendié les locaux kurdes tout en brandissant les drapeaux du MHP au centre de la capitale européenne, et ce sous la tolérance sans précédente de la police bruxelloise. Malgré le fait que ces agresseurs et des drapeaux du MHP étaient clairement identifiés dans les documents des télévisions turques retransmis par les chaînes belges, personne n'est condamnée ou mise en état d'arrestation jusqu'ici pour ce crime horrifiant.
Les responsables des associations de "Loups gris" sont toujours interlocuteurs privilégiés non seulement de l'Ambassade de Turquie mais également de certains dirigeants communaux de Bruxelles.
Les dirigeants européens se révoltent tout justement contre la montée de Berlusconi en Italie, de Heider en Autriche et de Le Pen en France.
Quand il s'agit de la Turquie, ils préfèrent de se taire
devant les chantages du pouvoir militaro-fasciste d'Ankara, de tolérer
la ramification des "Loups Gris" en Europe et suivent à la lettre
les exigences "anti-terroristes" imposées par les notoires "terroristes"
d'extrême-droite.
La 91e mort dans la résistance des prisonniers politiques
La grève de la faim contre la réforme des prisons turques a fait une 91e victime le jeudi 23 mai, avec le décès d'un prisonnier politique. Okan Kulekci, 19 ans, est décédé dans un hôpital d'Istanbul après avoir jeûné pendant 240 jours.
Il était jugé pour appartenance à une organisation clandestine de gauche, l'Union des communistes révolutionnaires turcs (TIKB) après avoir été interpellé il y a deux ans lors d'une manifestation.
La grève a été lancée en octobre 2000 par un millier de prisonniers politiques de gauche pour protester contre l'entrée en service de prisons dites "de type F" où des cellules pour 1 ou 3 détenus remplacent le système des vastes dortoirs. Ils estiment que ce régime d'isolement les expose aux mauvais traitements et les désocialise.
La résistance des prisonniers politique s'est soldée par la mort de 51 détenus ou leurs proches décédés des suites de leur privation.
En décembre 2000, un assaut des forces de gendarmeries pour réduire le mouvement dans une vingtaine de prisons avait fait 32 victimes dont deux gendarmes, et le gouvernement avait alors ouvert quatre de ces nouvelles prisons dites "de type F".
Quatre prisonniers se sont en outre immolés par le feu en soutien aux grévistes et quatre autres personnes ont été tuées lors d'une intervention de la police en novembre dernier contre une maison d'Istanbul occupée par des grévistes.
La grève de la faim des proches de détenus contre le régime carcéral à isolement a pris fin le 22 mai, mais 55 détenus poursuivent toujours le mouvement dans leurs prisons, selon l'Association turque des droits de l'Homme (IHD). "Les derniers grévistes de la faim en dehors des prisons ont mis fin à leur mouvement il y a quelques jours estimant qu'ils ont suffisamment payé de prix pour faire entendre leur voix", a dit à l'AFP le président de l'IHD, Husnu Ondul.
Les grévistes de la faim ont considérablement abaissé leurs exigences pour mettre fin à leur grève et sont prêts à accepter un compromis avancé par les chefs des 4 principaux barreaux du pays. Ce compromis, résumé sous la formule, 3 clefs 3 portes, permettrait aux détenus de 3 cellules de 3 détenus (9 personnes), de pouvoir communiquer entre eux pendant huit heures par jour. Toutefois, le ministre de la justice, M. Hikmet Sami Türk, la refuse en invoquant des obstacles de nature technique et sécuritaire.
Actuellement quelque 10.000 des 55.000 détenus que compte la Turquie sont des détenus politiques accusés de terrorisme ou d'appartenance à un parti ou une organisation politiques illégaux.
Etant donné que quelque 200 prisonniers poursuivent toujours la grève de la faim, le nombre de victimes peut s'élévér dans les jours qui viennent au plus de 100.
Le premier ministre Ecevit (DSP), le chef de l'Etat-major des forces
armées le général Kivrikoglu --également l'homme
fort du Conseil de la Sûreté nationale (MGK)--, les vice-premiers
ministres Devlet Bahçeli (MHP, néo-fasciste) et Mesut Yilmaz
(ANAP, de droite) ainsi que le ministre de la Justice Hikmet Sami Türk
(DSP) sont les responsables principaux de la mort des dizaines des prisonniers
politiques dans ce pays au seuil de l'Union européenne. (Info-Türk,
23 mai 2002)
Eight organizations terminated death strike
Prisoners charged with membership of 8 different organizations announced that they had terminated the death fast action that started on 20 October 2000. The prisoners from the Revolutionary Communist Union of Turkey (TIKB), the Turkish Communist Party/ML (TKP/ML), TKP (ML), the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP), Revolution Party of Turkey (TDP), Resistance Movement, the Marxist-Leninist Armed Propaganda Unit (MLSPB) and the Turkish Communist Party (Kivilcim) stated that they terminated the action as of 28 May and announced that their struggle against the cells and isolation would continue in other forms. The number of prisoners continuing the death fast action dropped to 31.
Only prisoners charged with membership of the Revolutionary Peopleís Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) are continuing the action.
So far 100 people died as a result of the hunger strikes, death fast
and other actions related to the protest against the F-type prisons. During
the operation against the prisons 30 prisoners (Haydar Akbaba and Muharrem
Buldukoglu allegedly were killed by members of illegal organizations) and
2 soldiers died. 32 participants of the death fast action died in prison,
outside 7 relatives of prisoners died and 11 of those died, who continued
the action after release. 5 people burned themselves to death (Kazim Gülbag
in Germany). Six people died as a result of suicidal attacks (two attackers,
three police officers and one tourist). During the police intervention
in Küçükarmutlu quarter 4 people died. In addition, Mustafa
Coskun died as a result of wrong treatment of cancer during his action
on 3 October 2001 and Hidir Demir died on 27 April because of tuberculosis.
In the Netherlands Cafer Dereli was beaten to death by right-wing militant,
while he was conducting a solidarity hunger strike on 9 December 2000.
(TIHV, May 30, 2002)
Sexual Abuse in Turkey: Why are the Victims on Trial?
Two years ago a conference was held in Turkey on sexual violence in the prisons there. Nineteen of those who participated have been on trial since last week, charged with defaming the Turkish military. Included among the defendants are attorneys for a Turkish legal aid project that, inter alia, offers legal assistance to women victimized by such violence.
The following is an interview with trial observer Wanda Lass:
Q: How did the first trial session go on Wednesday?
Three of the women charged were present; two of them only had their personal details recorded. The third, a 27-year-old student who lives in Athens, declared that she had taken part in the conference in order to tell about her own experiences with sexual abuse by police. She testified that she had not defamed the state, but had merely related what had happened to her.
Q: How much interest was there on the part of the public?
There were only five people in attendance, two of them trial observers and two others female journalists.
Q: Do you assume that the court will try to drag the trial out intentionally?
It's a normal procedure in Turkey that personal details are recorded during the trial, and then investigated. For that reason, it's quite normal for the trial to be adjourned again and again.
Q: The trial already began a year ago. The Turkish prosecutor's office has opened other cases in the meantime in which, among others, two attorneys from the legal aid project are accused. Why this wave of trials?
In the middle of the week we had the opportunity to speak with one of the women involved in the Turkish legal aid project. Even during our conversation, yet another prosecution case against attorney Eren Keskin arrived by fax. She is accused on the basis of a speech given on 8 March in Cologne. Note: on the basis of a speech in Germany! The woman working with the project takes it for granted that the Turkish state feels itself threatened by these public accusations. Rape is one of the worst methods of torture and is supposed to be kept quiet.
Q: This address by Keskin in Germany also led to a campaign against her in the Turkish media. The journalist Fatih Altayli cursed her vehemently, and even threatened sexual violence against her. What does that mean for her?
Eren Keskin also has a certain degree of support within the public.
There are journalists who have called repeatedly upon Fatih Altayli to
apologize to Eren Keskin. She gets a great many letters of support. In
addition, Claudia Roth, the Chairwomen of the Alliance 90/Greens [in the
German parliament] was recently in Istanbul and read a press statement
there on the topic. One has to understand that the military has a very
high status in Turkey. Fatih Altayli has in the meantime gotten himself
female support, in the person of Professor Nesle Arat. She is married to
a general and has attacked Eren Keskin for her engagement on the issue
of sexual violence. The situation for Eren Keskin has meanwhile become
quite difficult, since she can be taken into custody at any time based
on the new accusation. In that case it would become impossible for her
to work for the legal aid project. (Junge Welt-KurdishMedia.com, 17 May
2002)
Une loi d'amnistie qui profiterait à Mehmet Ali Agca
Le président turc Ahmet Necdet Sezer a saisi la Cour constitutionnelle pour demander l'annulation d'un article d'une loi d'amnistie très controversée qui pourrait profiter à Mehmet Ali Agca, l'homme qui a tenté d'assassiner le Pape, a annoncé jeudi son service de presse.
M. Sezer engage ainsi un bras de fer avec le gouvernement de coalition tripartite du Premier ministre Bulent Ecevit, hospitalisé depuis la semaine dernière, d'autant que deux jours auparavant, il avait déposé le même type de recours contre une loi qui restreint la liberté de la presse.
L'article incriminé par le président réduit les peines de prison de dix ans pour une série de crimes, ce qui assurerait la libération de près de 5.000 prisonniers.
Il a suscité une vive polémique car des condamnés tels que Mehmet Ali Agca, militant d'extrême droite qui a déjà purgé 19 ans de prison en Italie pour avoir ouvert le feu sur Jean Paul II en 1981, en bénéficieraient.
Ancien président de la Cour constitutionnelle et juriste très respecté, M. Sezer avait mis son veto à cette loi le 27 avril arguant de lacunes constitutionnelles.
Mais le parlement lui a renvoyé la loi sans changement et il a été obligé de la promulguer mercredi soir.
Le chef de l'Etat estime que les dispositions d'une loi d'amnistie doivent, selon la constitution, être adoptées à une majorité des trois cinquièmes à l'Assemblée nationale, soit 330 députés sur 550, alors que l'article incriminé n'a été adopté qu'à une majorité simple (174 députés).
M. Sezer réclame aussi la suspension de l'entrée en vigueur de la loi jusqu'à ce que la Cour tranche, souligne le communiqué.
L'Italie a extradé Mehmet Ali Agca, 44 ans, en juin 2000 après qu'il eut été pardonné pour cette tentative d'assassinat lors d'une apparition publique sur la place Saint-Pierre de Rome qui avait grièvement blessé le souverain pontife.
A son retour en Turquie, Agca a été condamné à Istanbul à dix ans de prison en liaison avec l'assassinat en 1979 d'un célèbre journaliste turc, Abdi Ipekci, ainsi qu'à sept autres années de prison pour vol à main armée.
Un autre militant d'extrême droite, Haluk Kirci, emprisonné pour le meurtre de sept militants de gauche à la fin des années 70, pourrait également bénéficier de cette loi.
Le flou juridique persiste sur la libération de ces deux hommes.
La nouvelle loi étend en fait le champ d'application d'une loi d'amnistie de 1999 accusée de pratiquer une discrimination parmi les condamnés susceptibles d'en bénéficier.
40.000 détenus en ont profité, selon le ministre de la Justice Hikmet Sami Turk, et 700 d'entre eux ont récidivé et sont retournés en prison.
Mardi, après un va et vient entre le parlement et la présidence, M. Sezer avait saisi la Cour constitutionnelle pour demander l'annulation de certains article d'une loi sur les médias, estimant qu'elle restreignait leur liberté et restait trop floue dans la définition des délits sanctionnés.
Cette loi introduit notamment des sanctions pour la propagation de fausses
informations sur l'internet. (AFP, 23 mai 2002)
La Cour constitutionnelle annule partiellement une amnistie controversée
La Cour constitutionnelle turque a annulé, après un recours du président Ahmet Necdet Sezer, un article crucial d'une loi d'amnistie très controversée qui aurait pu notamment profiter à Mehmet Ali Agca, l'homme qui a tenté d'assassiner le Pape, a annoncé mardi son vice-président.
La Cour a cependant rejeté une demande de la suspension de l'entrée en vigueur du reste de la loi, a ajouté Hasim Kilic, cité par l'agence Anatolie.
L'ensemble de la loi, y compris l'article annulé, restera en vigueur tant que les attendus de la Cour ne seront pas publiés dans le journal officiel, ce qui ne dissipe pas le flou juridique sur une libération de prisonniers entre-temps, a-t-il souligné.
L'article annulé réduisait les peines de prison de dix ans pour une série de crimes, ce qui aurait assuré la libération de près de 5.000 prisonniers.
De nombreux détenus ont déjà été remis en liberté aux termes de cette loi, sans même attendre que la Cour tranche, notamment un homme de main de l'extrême droite, Isa Armagan, qui avait mitraillé trois cafés d'Ankara en 1978, faisant 5 morts et 14 blessé, selon le quotidien Hurriyet.
Il n'aura purgé que sept ans de prison par le jeu des réductions
de peine et de l'amnistie, a précisé le quotidien. (AFP,
29 mai 2002)
The balance sheet of the controversial amnesty
"Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk has announced that 382,977 people have benefited from the Conditional Release Bill which introduces reductions in sentences.
As of April 25, 40,518 convicts have been released from prisons including 11,571 murderers, 11,371 thieves and robbers and 1,122 rapists. [Former ultranationalist activist] Isa Armagan, who was convicted of spraying a coffeehouse with bullets in Ankara's Balgat district in 1978 [in a major political case] was released from a jail in Bandirma on May 26.
Due to the latest change amendment made in the Conditional Release Bill,
a further 5,000 people, mostly murderers, are expected to be released as
well." (Milliyet, May 28, 2002)
3-month Human Rights violations in Turkey
The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) issued its Human Rights
Report of turkey for the first three months of 2002. Below are the 3-month
records of main human rights violations by the State forces.
According to the Amnesty International's Annual Report, released in London on May 27, 2002, the regime in Ankara, in spite of its promises to adapt itself to the Copenhagen criteria, continued to violate human rights during the Year 2001.
The report (covering events in 2001) documents extrajudicial executions in 47 countries; judicial executions in 31 countries; "disappearances" in 35 countries; cases of torture and ill-treatment in 111 countries and prisoners of conscience in at least 56 countries. However, the organization believes that the true figures are much higher.
Below we reprint the the Report's chapter concerning Turkey:
Thousands of prisoners were held in conditions of prolonged isolation which could amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, while the debate surrounding the high security "F-type" prisons intensified. The pressure on human rights defenders increased: they faced harassment, death threats, arrests and prosecution, and branches of human rights associations were closed. Many people were imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression, particularly when they expressed opinions on the Kurdish question, the "F-type" prisons or the role of Islam. Torture in police custody remained widespread and was practised systematically, while the perpetrators were rarely brought to justice. Two Kurdish politicians "disappeared" in gendarmerie custody. Dozens of political killings were reported, some of which may have been extrajudicial executions. The de facto moratorium on executions was upheld.
In March, Turkey outlined a national program of steps to be taken to meet the conditions set out in December 2000 for starting negotiations to join the European Union. Turkey decided to give priority to a review of the 1982 Constitution, which was adopted when the country was under military rule. While some restrictions on fundamental human rights were lifted, new restrictions were introduced that fell short of Turkey's international obligations. The amendment did not include significant safeguards against torture, and the death penalty was abolished for some offences only. A number of promised legal reforms were initiated. New governmental human rights bodies were established. However, there was no major improvement in the human rights record.
The armed conflict between government forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) effectively came to an end in 1999, but there were still some clashes between the Turkish army and PKK groups. Repression of political parties and organizations in the mainly Kurdish southeast continued. Numerous representatives of the legal pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP) were arrested and put on trial. People were restricted from publicly expressing their Kurdish identity. Demonstrations, meetings and other public events were banned, increasingly so following the attacks in the USA on 11 September. Numerous media outlets were closed temporarily. The Islamic-oriented Fazilet Partisi (Virtue Party) was banned in June.
Torture and ill-treatment
Torture was widespread and practised systematically. There were numerous reports of torture and ill-treatment of men, women and children, mainly from western cities, the southeast and the region around Adana in the south. Many of the victims were political activists including supporters of leftist, pro-Kurdish and Islamist groups. Despite intimidation and fear of reprisals, several allegations of torture were made by people arrested on criminal charges. Other alleged victims of torture and ill-treatment included Kurdish villagers, relatives of political activists and trade unionists. Allegations were also received from people alleged to be leading figures in organized crime. Reports indicated that those suspected of theft and burglary - among them many children - continued to be systematically beaten in detention. In some cases torture appeared to be linked to discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation or ethnicity.
Torture and ill-treatment occurred mainly in police and gendarmerie stations during the days immediately after arrest. The most frequently reported methods included severe beatings, blindfolding, suspension by the arms or wrists, electric shocks, sexual abuse, and food and sleep deprivation.
Eleven villagers who were held by the gendarmerie in the western province of Usak during the night of 23/24 January reported that they were beaten while blindfolded and handcuffed from the moment of their arrest. At the gendarmerie station they were forced to sit on a cold concrete floor, having been stripped of their lower clothing. Two of them also reported that they had been subjected to falaka (beating on the soles of the feet), and that their genitals had been squeezed. The villagers reported that when they were taken to the local state hospital on the morning after their arrest, still blindfolded and handcuffed, the doctors did not examine them properly and did not note their complaints. After their release the men filed formal complaints against the gendarmerie officers and the doctors. The men had been arrested following an anonymous complaint that they had stolen sheep five years earlier.
An 11-year-old Kurdish girl, Gazal Berü, was attacked by dogs in front of the gendarmerie station in Yigitler village, in the southeastern province of Bingöl, on 19 March and bitten to death. Her sister reported that the soldier standing next to the girls ordered the dogs to "get them". Villagers testified that the dogs belonged to the gendarmerie and that there had been repeated but unanswered complaints about them since 1994.
High security prisons
Isolation in prisons continued to be a subject of intense debate. The authorities continued to build 11 "F-type" prisons and new wings to existing prisons in which dormitories were replaced with smaller cells. Thousands of inmates of six "F-type" prisons already in use were kept in prolonged solitary confinement or small group isolation which could amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Although Article 16 of the Anti-Terror Law was amended in early May to allow prisoners to receive unobstructed visits and to participate in communal activities, the law did not ensure that prisoners spent adequate time in communal areas. AI received numerous reports of ill-treatment in "F-type" prisons, but they were difficult to verify because of the restricted access to these prisons. By the end of the year, 42 people had died as a result of a hunger strike against these prisons.
Rape in custody
Reports of rape and sexual assault by members of the security forces continued. During incommunicado detention in police or gendarmerie custody, women and men were routinely stripped naked. Methods of sexual abuse reportedly included rape, electric shocks and beating on the genitals and women's breasts. By the end of 2001, 147 women, 112 of them Kurds, had sought help from a legal aid project in Istanbul set up in 1997 to bring perpetrators to justice. Fifty-one of the women alleged they had been raped; the rest reported other forms of sexual torture. The suspected perpetrators were overwhelmingly police officers, although allegations were also made against gendarmes, soldiers and village guards. Only one was convicted.
After a demonstration on 1 May, several women were taken to police headquarters in Izmir. Two of them gave similar reports that police officers tried to recruit them as informers.
During the night each woman was reportedly taken to a separate room and blindfolded, beaten, stripped naked and sexually abused. Both were reportedly raped by police officers. The women were released the following day without having seen a prosecutor or a judge.
Prolonged police custody
There were increasing numbers of reports about police and gendarmerie detention of political activists in Diyarbakir for several weeks or months, although the maximum permitted in Turkish law was seven days (10 under the state of emergency). Alleged members of the armed Islamist organization Hizbullah, and from October alleged PKK supporters, were returned to custody after having been remanded in prison.
* Tekin Ülsen was taken to the anti-terror branch of the police headquarters in Diyarbakir on 23 June and questioned about alleged links with Hizbullah. While in unacknowledged detention Tekin Ülsen reported that he was tortured with electric shocks, hosed with cold water, had his wrist cut and his testicles squeezed. Despite a judge's order on 19 July that Tekin Ülsen be remanded in prison, he was returned to police headquarters and was finally moved to Diyarbakir prison on 20 July.
Impunity
Officers accused of torture were rarely suspended from duty, and in some cases received promotions. Detainees who alleged that they had been tortured were almost invariably blindfolded. Medical evidence of torture was frequently suppressed. Doctors who documented torture were often harassed. The intimidation of victims and witnesses and a generalized climate of fear also contributed to impunity, as did prosecutors' reluctance to investigate security officials. Statements reportedly extracted under torture were placed in court records and judges often refused to investigate allegations of torture.
Sait Dönmüs and Mehmet Ali Kaplan were arrested in Diyarbakir on 30 June 2000 on suspicion of supporting the PKK and held at Silvan gendarmerie headquarters for six days before being brought before a prosecutor and released. They were reportedly stripped naked and blindfolded, and were then tortured with electric shocks, beaten and had their testicles squeezed. The following day they were examined at Diyarbakir State Hospital where doctors recorded that their injuries were consistent with torture. After the gendarmes complained about the medical report, the deputy health director attempted to persuade the doctors to change it. When they refused to do this, the gendarmes reportedly destroyed the original report and obtained a substitute which stated that no signs of torture had been found.
Following a successful appeal against attempts to prevent prosecution proceedings, the deputy health director was convicted of abuse of his professional role in November 2001, but his sentence was suspended. In a second trial, two gendarmes accused of having tortured Mehmet Ali Kaplan and Sait Dönmüs were acquitted on 27 April 2001. According to the statements of the plaintiffs, the accused were not the officers who had tortured them. The court ruled that the prosecution should reopen the case to identify the perpetrators.
Two HADEP politicians 'disappeared'
Serdar Tanis and Ebubekir Deniz, both representatives of HADEP, "disappeared" after being summoned on 25 January to the gendarmerie station in Silopi, Sirnak province. After initially claiming that the two men had not been detained, the authorities later stated that they had been released after 30 minutes. In March the authorities announced that they had confiscated a letter indicating that the two men had been abducted by the PKK and were being held in a camp in northern Iraq. There were grave doubts about the authenticity of the letter and its account of events. Before his "disappearance", Serdar Tanis had been threatened repeatedly by the local gendarmerie commander and warned to give up his party activities.
Increased pressure on human rights defenders
Human rights defenders continued to face harassment and intimidation. On 7 September the authorities raided the Diyarbakir office of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, one of five treatment and rehabilitation centres for torture victims around the country. Items confiscated and held for a month included all patient files, computers and details of doctors who supported the Foundation. It was suspected that the reason for the raid was the work carried out by the Foundation in preparing documentary evidence of torture.
AI's application to open a branch in Turkey was rejected by the Council of Ministers in November.
Branches of the Human Rights Association (IHD) remained forcibly closed indefinitely and others were closed temporarily. Members of staff were detained for short periods.
Lawyer and human rights defender Eren Keskin, head of the IHD branch in Istanbul and a founder of the Legal Aid Project for sexually tortured women, went on trial for "insulting the Turkish army", after her description of the sexual torture suffered by members of a Kurdish women's group known as the Peace Mothers was published in the newspaper Yeni Gündem (New Agenda). The death threats made against Eren Keskin increased after she travelled to Silopi as part of the delegation investigating the "disappearance" of the two HADEP representatives (see above).
Prisoners of conscience
Many people, including writers, journalists, trade unionists, local and national politicians, religious leaders and human rights defenders, continued to be imprisoned or tried for exercising their right to freedom of expression, particularly on issues related to the Kurdish question, the "F-type" prisons or the role of Islam. Some of them benefited from a law on conditional releases, but others were excluded.
Dr Fikret Baskaya, founder and chairman of the Turkey and Middle East Forum Foundation, began a 16-month sentence in Kalecik prison on 29 June. He had been convicted and sentenced under Article 8/1 of the Anti-Terror Act for "disseminating separatist propaganda through the press". The conviction followed the publication in June 1999 of an article he wrote in the daily newspaper Özgür Bakis questioning the validity of Turkey's approach on the Kurdish issue following the arrest of Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the PKK.
Death penalty
The de facto moratorium on executions was upheld. However, at least
24 death sentences were passed in 2001; four were later commuted to prison
terms. The constitutional amendment on 3 October stated that the death
penalty "cannot be imposed except in times of war, imminent threat of war
and for terrorist crimes". Of the 117 prisoners whose death sentences had
been upheld by the Appeal Court and who can be executed upon parliamentary
approval, at least 73 were sentenced under "anti-terror" legislation.
Human Rights violations in brief
Investigation against IHD
The public prosecutor at Ankara SSC started an investigation against 24 board members of the Human Rights Association (IHD), including the chairman Hüsnü Öndül. They were called to testify on posters demanding "education in Kurdish". These posters put up in various branches of the IHD allegedly constitute "support for a terrorist organization". The IHD announced that this case had not been transmitted to them, but they had heard of the investigation through a news item by the semi-official Anatolian News Agency. (TIHV, May 2, 2002)
Diyarbakir IHD on Trial
On 1 May Diyarbakir Penal Court No. 3 heard the case of Osman Baydemir, chairman of the Diyarbakir branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and the board members Fikret Saraçoglu, Meral Danis, Reyhan Yalçindag, Abdulkadir Aydin and Pirozhan Dogrul on charges of violating Article 64/1 TPC in connection with Articles 6 and 77/1 of Law No. 2908 on Associations providing that the distribution of brochures, leaflets and written statements has to be in Turkish. The board of Diyarbakir IHD had written "Newroz" instead of "Nevruz", when on 14 March they decided to organize a reception on 20 March. Osman Baydemir stated that Newroz was a traditional name used by peoples in the Middle East and should not be changed. The Court adjourned the hearing to 6 June to establish whether the defendants had been board members on the date in question. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 2, 2002)
Lawyer on Trial
On 1 May the trial against lawyer Cem Alptekin, active in the so-called "16 March massacre" case, on charges of "insulting the secret service MIT and disclosing the identity of a staff member" resulted in acquittal. Istanbul SSC passed the same verdict as Istanbul Criminal Court No. 5 that had acquitted the defendants on 16 October 2000. The 9th Chamber of the Court of Cassation had quashed the verdict on 15 March 2001 and because of charges under the Law to Fight Terrorism Istanbul SSC had to look into the case. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 2, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
Veli Yildirim and Yakup Tosun, who had been detained in Adana on suspicion of membership of the radical Islamic organization "Hizb-al Tahrir", were arrested on 30 April. Ismet Erdem, distributor of the weekly "Yedinci Gündem" in Van, was detained in Çaldiran district on 30 April. In Antep Birsen Deniz, board member of the prisonersí relativesí association THAYD-DER, was detained after she visited her father Mehmet Deniz. Her mother Islim Deniz said that another woman from Diyarbakir and a teacher, who wanted to take her back, had also been detained. The chairman of HADEP for Adana province, Abdullah Ince, was detained on 1 May, reportedly on allegations of having taken instructions of the PKK to prisoners in Antep Prison. His detention followed the detention of Haci Özkal (40) and Birsel Deniz (20). Their testimony presumably led to the detention of Abdullah Ince. Further detentions were reported from Sehitkamil district (a major) and Sahinbey district (a teacher). On 30 April the police raided the offices of the HADEP in Baskale district (Van) and detained the executives Fazil Turan, Ömer Abi and the members Derman Özçimen and Seyfettin Saybak. (Evrensel-Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 2, 2002)
Torture in Tunceli
Party of Labour (EMEP) in Tunceli announced that its SG Ali Taman was beaten during the celebrations of International Labour Day. In addition, police dogs bit him. Some 20 members of EMEP had been detained and the member Ali Yildiz had been beaten severely at the central police station in Tunceli. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 3, 2002)
Trade Unionist on Trial
On 2 May Malatya SSC started to hear the case of Mehmet Nafiz Koç, chairman of the teachersí union Egitim-Sen in Elazig, in connection with a speech he held on Medya TV. During the hearing he stated that his speech had been held in connection with the right to education in the mother tongue. Mr. Koç had been detained on 28 February, but was released on 1 March on objection of his lawyer. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 3, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
Ayhan Dogru, editor?in-chief of the journal "Özgür Halk", who had been detained during a raid on the office of his paper in Istanbul on 29 April, was released on 2 May. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 3, 2002)
Torture in Istanbul and Tunceli
On 3 May Ahmet Uçar held a press conference at the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) stating that he and Murat Teker and Sezen Harnuboglu had been tortured. He said that he had been detained together with Murat Teker on 26 April. They had been tortured and put under pressure to become police informers. After their release they had been threatened with death, if they did not work for the police. Sezen Harnuboglu was detained on 28 April and tortured at Küçükçekmece Police Station. Meanwhile Ali Yildiz and Gökhan Gündogan, members of the Labor Party (EMEP), who had been detained in Tunceli on 1 May, were arrested. Reportedly Ali Yildiz has difficulties in walking because of the torture in detention. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 6, 2002)
House Raid, EJE
On 5 May Turan Çaliskan, who was hiding in the house of his elderly brother in Malatya, after he wounded Ayhan Toraman with a pistol, was shot dead by the police. Reportedly the police first threw tear gas into the house and when some officers entered the house Turan Çaliskan was killed and deputy chief of police, Abdülkadir Topaktas, was wounded. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 6, 2002)
Governor on Trial
The Supreme Administrative Court (Danistay) decided to put Orhan Tasanlar, the ex-governor of Bursa, on trial. The court found that during the investigation of the killing of Nesim Malki (28 November 1995) he neglected his duty, an offence according to Article 230 TPC. Earlier the governor had twice been charged under Article 240 TPC for misconduct of duty and twice had been acquitted. (Vakit,-TIHV, May 4, 2002)
Students under Scrutiny
In Mazidagi district (Mardin) an investigation was started by the director for national education against 74 students from the grammar school on the allegation that they participated in the Newroz celebrations. In Sivas an investigation was started against students from the Cumhuriyet University for their protest against the Law on Higher Education. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 6, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
On 4 May officers from the department to fight terrorism at Siirt Police HQ. detained Gülhan Akin, member of the youth wing of the HADEP. On 3 May the police in Batman raided various houses and detained the HADEP members M. Sah Öner, Muzaffer Tekin, Izzettin Tas and Gemgin Durak. On 3 May officers from the intelligence department of the gendarmerie (JITEM) raided Hasanova (Hesnave) village in Karliova district (Bingöl) and detained Zeki Kiliç and Osman Yilmaz. In Istanbul a worker, participating in the strike at the docks of Tuzla, was detained on 3 May. (Yedinci Gündem, Evrensel-TIHV, May 4-5, 2002)
Case against Politician
Erzurum SSC decided to send the file concerning charges for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, chairman of the Party for Justice and Development (AKP) for a speech he held in Rize in 1992 to Ankara SSC. The investigation had been conducted under Article 146 TPC.. Ankara SSC decided that the speech might constitute an offence of Article 159 TPC and sent the file to the public prosecutor in Rize. (Hürriyet-TIHV, May 4, 2002)
Greenpeace Action
On 4 May members of Greenpeace staged an action against asbestos contaminated waste in Aliaga (Izmir). They were promised that the ship "Sea Beirut" would not be dismantled until the results of an analysis had been obtained and ended their action. The activists were detained, but released after testifying to a prosecutor. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 5, 2002)
Trade Unionists on Trial
The 8th Chamber of the Court of Cassation quashed a verdict against 10 trade unionists from the confederation Türk-Is. They had put down a black wreath in front of a monument of Atatürk. The Court of Cassation ruled that it was no violation of the Law on Demonstrations and Meetings, if people walked a distance of 300 meters to express their opinion. The initial trial had been held in Dalaman. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 5, 2002)
Refugees Detained
57 refugees were detained near Timar village (Van), when the gendarmerie controlled a lorry. In Çaldiran district another 10 refugees were detained near Beydogan village. In Ercis district 11 refugees were detained near Tekler village. During a road control in Havsa district (Edirne) 16 refugees were detained. Two refugees from the Iraq were wounded, when they tried to run away. Their situation is reported to be critical. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 5-6, 2002)
Torture in Mardin
The public prosecutor in Mardin started an investigation against 5 police officers, one of them female, on allegations of having tortured Hamdiye Aslan (35). On 5 March 2002 she had been detained in Kiziltepe district, together with another three suspects. After three days in detention at Mardin Police HQ. Hamdiye Aslan was taken to Mardin State Hospital. Dr. Ayhan Özden issued a report stating that there were no traces of blows or force. When Hamdiye Aslan complained to the prosecutor about torture, she was sent to the State Hospital again and Dr. M. Metin Çilgin certified widespread bruises under her right arm, an edema under her left ear and on the sole of both feet. The prosecutor requested another report and this time Opr. Dr. Ata Hitay, working at the same hospital, stated that there were no damages resulting from violence. While Hamdiye Aslan was imprisoned on charges of supporting an armed gang the public prosecutor in Mardin started an investigation against the commissioner Levent Birsel and the police officers Abdulkadir Özer, Bayram Ural, Nazim Ege and Hanife Sennur Pat. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 5, 2002)
Demonstrator beaten in Diyarbakir
The student Ahmet Turhan filed an official complaint against police officers in Diyarbakir. He alleged that he had been beaten and his clothes had been torn into pieces, when the Labour Platform tried to read out a press statement on 1 May, World Labour Day. He had been detained and the ill-treatment had continued in detention. He asked for an examination by the Forensic Institute to certify the traces on his body. (TIHV, May 6, 2002)
The Manisa Trial
On 6 May Manisa Criminal Court continued the trial against 10 police officers, charged with having tortured 16 juveniles between 26 December 1995 and 5 January 1996. Only defendant Levent Özvev and his lawyer Rüçhan Ayse Baygo had appeared. The lawyer asked for more time since she was new to the trial. The court announced that the defendants Turgut Demirel, Fevzi Aydogdu, Turgut Özcan, Musa Geçer, Ramazan Kolak and Halil Emir had been informed of the fact that their lawyers had withdrawn from the trial, but they had not replied yet. Lawyer Serhan Özbek, chairman of Manisa Bar Association, acting for the sub-plaintiffs, repeated his fear that the police officers may go without punishment, because of lapse of time. The court adjourned the hearing to 27 May. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 7, 2002)
Father of Hunger Strikers on Trial
On 6 May Istanbul SSC No. 4 started to hear the case of Ahmet Kulaksiz, father of Canan and Zehra Kulaksiz, who lost their lives during the death fast action of prisoners (Canan Kulaksiz on 15 April and Zehra Kulaksiz on 29 June 2001). Afterwards Ahmet Kulaksiz wrote a book entitled "The Life of two Sisters, Canan and Zehra". Together with Muharrem Cengiz, owner of Tavir Publishing House, he is accused of making propaganda for illegal organizations by means of a publication. During the hearing Ahmet Kulaksiz stated He had tried to convince them to stop their action, but was also opposed to the F-type prisons that had cost the lives of so many people and disabled many others. The hearing was adjourned to a later date. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 7, 2002)
School Guard Beaten
On 7 May Cengiz Yetkin, school guard in Karsiyaka district (Izmir), spoke at a press conference of the Izmir branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD). He said that on 30 April he had been stopped, while driving the car of a friend. Both of them had been taken to Bostanli Police Station and the police had accused his friend. When they objected saying that Mr. Yetkin had been driving, one of the police officers cursed at them. When Cengiz Yetkin asked him to correct his speech 5-6 police officers attacked Mr. Yetkin: "They beat me everywhere. I was punched into the face and on my eye and even, when I was lying on the ground, they kicked me. One blow to my chin resulted in a broken tooth and my lip split." Following a test for alcohol Cengiz Yetkin was taken to Bayrakli Hospital and from there to the hospital of the Aegean University, where he spent the night. He claimed that he could not afford the operation of his broken nose and did not receive a copy of the report by the Forensic Institute. On 2 May he filed an official complaint against 3 police officers and a commissioner. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 8, 2002)
Events of Akkise
On 7 May Ahirli Penal Court continued to hear the case of 52 soldiers and 22 civilians in connection with the events in Akkise town, Ahirli district (Konya) on 9 August 2001. The court decided to combine another trial at Konya Criminal Court No. 2 with this trial. During the incidents in Akkise that started with an ID check of the gendarmerie Hasan Gültekin (21) was killed, Sami Tokmak, Kemal Candan and Ismet Tasbasi were injured. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 8, 2002)
Right-Wing Attack on Students
On 7 May a group of extreme right-wingers attacked a group of 5 students from the Selçuk University in Konya, when they refused to buy tickets for a Caucasian night. Allegedly the right-wingers used a pump gun and injured Alaaddin Aktas, Ilhan Kiliç, Sedat Erol, Mehmet Zana Kibar and Ayetullah Güven. They were taken to the hospital of the medical faculty. Three of the attackers were identified as Zeki Zorlu, Yusuf Narin and Levent Akkus. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 8, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
On 7 May the police raided various houses in Igdir and detained the HADEP members Bilal Yerlikaya, Hüseyin Adigüzel and 7 students on charges of having distributed leaflets on 1 May, International Labour Day. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 8, 2002)
Revised Verdict against the Yüksekova gang
The Panel of Chambers at the Court of Cassations partly accepted the objection by the chief prosecutor on the verdict against the so-called Yüksekova gang and overruled the decision by the 6th Chamber by confirming the conviction of Major Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, chief village guard Kemal Ölmez, Enver Çirak, member of a special unit and Bülent Yetüt. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 8, 2002)
Death Fast Action
On 1 May the 8th group started the death fast action against the F-type prisons. According to a statement by lawyer Behiç Asçi from the Peopleís Law Office the number of death fastening people in the prisons and hospitals had been 50 before. The names of the new hunger strikers were given as: in Bakirköy Special Type Prison: Eylem Göktas, in Kocaeli Kandira F-type Prison: Nihat Palabiyik and Yavuz Ates, in Tekirdag F-type Prison: Ali Sahin, in Ankara Sincan F-type Prison: Yusuf Arici and Erkan Koncek, in Edirne F-type Prison: Mesut Akbul and in Izmir Kiriklar F-type Prison: Sinan Akbayir. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 9, 2002)
Torture in Kiziltepe
The teachers Yakup Basboga, Zübeyir Avci, Aziz Yücedag, Sermin Erbas, Lokman Koçhan, Mahmut Kuzu, Mahsum Bilen, Mikail Bülbül, Abdulkerim Kosar, Faruk Kiliç, Lokman Kuzu and the engineer Ahmet Ökten, who had been detained in Kiziltepe district (Mardin) on 7 May, were arrested on 10 May, apparently in connection with Kurdish books found at their homes. Hüseyin Cangir, chairman of the Mardin branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) alleged that the teacher Sermin Erbas had a miscarriage in the 3rd month of her pregnancy. The teachersí union Egitim Sen in Mardin announced that their members had been tortured in custody. They had been hosed with water under high pressure, their heads had been covered with plastic bags, they had been forced to sing military marches, had been beaten roughly, forced to walk like ducks, not been given anything to eat or drink for 3 days, their testicles had been squeezed, having been stripped naked they had been kept waiting and been insulted. Sermin Erbas had to be taken to the hospital of Dicle University in Diyarbakir on the day of her arrest and was in a serious condition. Despite legal provisions 25 to 30 police officers had been present during the interrogation of the prosecutor. (Radikal-TIHV, May 12, 2002)
Torture in Kahta
On 10 May Isa Demirci applied to the Adiyaman branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD). He alleged that he had been detained in Kahta district (Adiyaman) on allegations of having looked at the police headquarters in a "suspicious" way. Because of the beating he got a headache and bad stomach and went to Kahta State Hospital, from where he was sent to Adiyaman State Hospital. Allegedly the staff refused to treat him. Even when executives of the IHD accompanied him he could not get a report, because of many police officers being present. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 11, 2002)
Medical Neglect
Reportedly Mehmet Kaya, imprisoned in Antep Special Type Prison, is not treated on inguinal hernia. His daughter Leyla Kaya appealed to the Justice Minister, the Health Minister and Diyarbakir IHD, asking for a treatment of the disease as a result of torture. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 11, 2002)
Akin Birdal on Trial
On 10 May Ankara Criminal Court No. 2 continued to hear the case of Akin Birdal, honorable chairman of the Human Rights Association (IHD) for a speech he delivered in Germany on 20 October 2000. During the speech he allegedly said that Turkey should apologize for the Armenian genocide. The hearing was adjourned to 27 June to establish the identity and whereabouts of the journalist of the daily "Gözcü", who had reported on this event. So far, the hearing was adjourned several times for the same reason. Akin Birdal is charged under Article 159 TPC with insulting the nature of being a Turk. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 11, 2002)
Attack by Right-Wingers
During the night of 11 May right-wingers attacked Sadiye Halisdemir, member of the trade union for health personnel (SES), her husband Hidir Halisdemir, member of the Freedom and Democracy Party (ÖDP), Seyran Ürembay, member of SES and her husband lieutenant Ali Ürembay in Akhisar (Manisa). Sadiye Halisdemir was injured to her head and face and Hidir Halisdemir had broken ribs. The attackers were released after testifying to the public prosecutor. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 13, 2002)
Event in Giresun
On 12 May Recai Zaim, Mayor of Espiye district (Giresun) for the DSP, Ibrahim Akgün, Mayor of Sogukpinar town, Ahmet Akbulut, Director of the Woodsí Department in Espiye and the driver Mehmet Külah were kidnapped near Yaglidere district (Giresun). Ibrahim Akgün was released shortly afterwards and the other persons around midnight. The kidnappers are said to be members of the Revolutionary Peopleís Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), who used the opportunity to make propaganda in a neighboring village. (Sabah-TIHV, May 13, 2002)
Trial against Hunger Strikers
On 13 May Istanbul SSC No. 6 started to hear the case of 19 defendants, 8 of them in pre-trial detention, who had been detained during a police operation against houses of hunger strikers in Küçükarmutlu quarter (Istanbul). The hearing was adjourned to 28 August. During the attack of the police on 5 November 2001 4 people were killed. In this trial the defendants Zeki Dogan, Sinan Tökü, Güzin Tolga, Eylem Göktas, Ahmet Güzel, Gamze Turan, Vedat Çelik, Selma Kubat (under arrest) and Dursun Ali Pekin, Halil Aksu, Haydar Bozkurt, Hakki Simsek, Hüseyin Akpinar, Serhat Ertürk, Özkan Güzel, Madimak Özen, Halil Acar, Serap Boyoglu and Engin Karagöz (not in pre-trial detention) have to expect sentences of between 5 and 22.5 yearsí imprisonment. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 14, 2002)
Clashes and Attacks
During a clash at the border between the provinces of Sivas and Tokat between the security forces and a group of militants, estimated to consist of 30 people, Cafer Özdemir, an alleged militant of the Turkish Communist Party/ML-Workersí and Peasants Liberation Army of Turkey (TKP/ML TIKKO), was killed. He is said to be the uncle of Bektas Özdemir, who had been arrested for supporting an illegal organization. Meanwhile, the kidnapping action in Giresun province (see item 05/083 of yesterday) was also attributed to TIKKO. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 14, 2002)
The Susurluk Scandal
The chief prosecution in Ankara decided not to prosecute retired generals and politicians, who had made statements in support of chief lieutenant Korkut Eken after his conviction in the so-called Susurluk case that resulted in a 6 yearsí prison term for him. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Bekir Selçuk argued that the retired generals including Dogan Güres, former chief of the General Staff, Necati Özgen, Teoman Koman, Hasan Kundakçi, Atilla Kurtaran, Cumhur Evcil, Veli Küçük and the MPs Kemal Çelik, Hayri Kozakçioglu and Ünal Erkan had carried out important tasks in the fight against the PKK. They had only commented on the success of Korkut Eken in this fight and is was impossible to link their statements to the fact that Istanbul SSC No. 6 had punished Korkut Eken. (Aksam-TIHV, May 14, 2002)
Verdict in the Bahçelievler Case
On 14 May Ankara Criminal Court No. 3 passed its verdict on Mahmut Korkmaz, one of the suspects for the so-called Bahçelievler massacre, during which seven students, members of the Turkish Workersí Party (TIP) were killed on 8 October 1978. He had appeared in court for the first time. Presiding judge announced the details of verdicts in the following manner. As participant in the killings Mahmut Korkmaz was sentenced to 15 yearsí imprisonment for each according to Article 450/4 TPC. The total of 105 yearsí imprisonment were commuted to the maximum penalty of 36 yearsí imprisonment. The case against the defendant Kadri Kürsat Poyraz, against whom an arrest warrant in absentia exists, was separated. On 1 November 1999 Ankara Criminal Court No. 3 had convicted Bünyamin Adanali and Ünal Osman Agaoglu and sentenced them to death seven times, but the 9th Chamber of Cassation had ruled on 14 July 2000 that it was wrong to sentence the defendants as actual murderers. When Ankara Criminal Court No. 3 resisted on the initial verdict, the Panel of Chambers at the Court of Cassations had finally confirmed the death penalties. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 15, 2002)
Devrimci Yol Trial
On 14 May Ankara Criminal Court No. 6 continued to hear the case of 23 defendants from the Devrimci Yol (Revolutionary Path) Trial that had originally started at Ankara Military Court on 18 October 1982. The verdict of 19 July 1989 had been quashed on 27 December 1995 for 23 defendants on the grounds that these defendants should have been sentenced to death. The hearing of 14 May was adjourned for two more defendants to prepare their final statements. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 15, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
The teachers Sermin Erbas, Aziz Yücedag, Nurettin Demir, Faruk Kiliç, Mahmut Kuzu and the engineer Ahmet Ökten, six of the 12 persons, who had been arrested on 10 May, were released on 14 May after their lawyers had objected against the arrest warrants. Reportedly the charges against them are based on Law 2911 on Demonstration and Meetings and on Law 3713 to Fight Terrorism. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 15, 2002)
Attack by Right-Wingers
The student Cihan Güngör, staying in a studentsí dormitory in Balikesir was attacked by five right-wingers in the night of 13 May. During a press conference at the Balikesir branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) fellow students stated that three of the attackers were not students. They named three of the attackers as Murat Yorganci, Deniz Kocaekiz and Oguzhan Kesici. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 15, 2002)
Medical Neglect
Fatma Yilmaz, mother of Abdullah Yilmaz, imprisoned in Batman E-type Prison, alleged that her son was not getting treatment for the last five months. He had been taken to Batman State Hospital in January. The doctors had discovered that his kidneys were no functioning and he was in urgent need of treatment. She feared that her son might die, if he is not treated. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 16, 2002)
Veli Saçilik on Trial
It was discovered that Veli Saçilik, who lost one arm during the operation in Burdur Prison on 5 July 2000, was put on trial for illegally collecting aid. Yasar Seyman had started a campaign to collect money for him so that he could get an artificial arm. Radio station "Ekin" had supported the campaign and the owner Servet Ünsal, the chief editor Abdülrezzak Oral and speaker Tuncay Karakis had been acquitted from the same charges by Ankara Penal Court No. 2. However, the testimony of the Yasar Seyman to the effect that the victim should open a bank account was reason for another trial. Veli Saçilik alleged that he was never informed about this trial that terminated already in March this year. His sentence of 3 monthsí imprisonment and a fine of TL 35 million was commuted to TL 248 million. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 16, 2002)
Trial against IP
On 15 May Ankara Penal Court No. 2 started to hear the case of Dogu Perinçek, leader of the Workersí Party (IP) and the deputy chairman Hasan Yalçin. They are charged with publishing the electronic mails of Karen Fogg, representative of the European Union in Turkey, which they had obtained by illegal means. The court decided to ask the Ministry of Justice for an interpretation of paragraph a1 in Article 525 TPC in connection with access to electronic mail and adjourned the hearing. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 16, 2002)
Killing of Hüseyin Duman
On 16 May Kadiköy Criminal Court No. 2 passed its verdict on Ihsan Bal, chairman of Küçükbakkalköy Idealistsí Union, for the killing of Hüseyin Duman (28), member of the Socialist Power Party (SIP) on 17 April 1999. The court sentenced him to 24 yearsí imprisonment according to Article 448 TPC, but ordered his release on the basis that he would benefit from the Law on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences. The case has started in December 2000 and the court has issued an arrest warrant for him. He has surrendered on 14 January 2001 after the release of the Law on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences. But he has been released on bail of TL 10 billion the same day. This was not the first trial of the right-winger Ihsan Bal. Kadiköy Criminal Court No. 3 had acquitted him in connection with the killing of Ali Güngör, follower of Kurtulus Socialist Journal (KSD) on 23 April 1983, because of lack of evidence. For the killing of Mete Yüksel, chairman of the Akincilar Association, on 23 February 1979 he was tried at Istanbul Military Court, but also acquitted because of lack of evidence. His only conviction had been announced for illegal possession of arms, but the prison term of one year had been commuted to a fine. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 17, 2002)
The Akkise Event
Sergeant Ali Çaliskan was arrested in Izmir in connection with the events in Akkise town, Ahirli district (Konya) on 9 August 2001. The arrest warrant had been issued by Seydisehir Criminal Court. During the incidents in Akkise that started with an ID check of the gendarmerie Hasan Gültekin (21) was killed, Sami Tokmak, Kemal Candan and Ismet Tasbasi were injured. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 17, 2002)
Trial against the Union of 68ers Foundation
On 16 May Beyoglu Judicial Court No. 1 started to hear the case of the Union of 68ers Foundation. The General Directorate for Foundation initiated the case with the demand of dissolving the Foundation and ordering that the 47 board members may not take official positions again, because they undermined the existing system. 25 executives including the chairman Gökalp Eren, Cüneyt Akalin and Namik Kemal Boya attended the hearing. The presiding judge did not take their testimony since they had not been invited officially and adjourned the hearing to a later date. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 17, 2002)
Action of Türk-Is
The sit-in organized by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-Is) against the draft law on "work security" that had started in Ankara-Güvenpark on 15 May was terminated during the night of 16 May. Officials of Turk-Is beat a group of students, who wanted to visit the protesters. When the police did not allow the distribution of blankets a discussion between the workers and the police resulted in injuries of one police officer. Nurettin Kiliçdogan chairman of the trade union TÜMTIS for Ankara was detained. In the morning of 16 May the secretary of TÜMTIS, Abidin Kandeger, was detained. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 17, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
On 16 May Ahmet Korkmaz was detained in Bitlis. He is accused of having participated in an action in Bitlis-Hizan in November 1991 during which a sergeant and 7 village guards were killed. (Yeni Safak-TIHV, May 17, 2002)
Incident in Giresun
Giresun Governor Ali Haydar Öner announced that two soldiers died and two soldiers were wounded, when on 16 May different teams of the gendarmerie carrying out operation near Yaglidere district mistakenly shot at each other. (Milliyet-TIHV, May 17, 2002)
Eren Keskin on Trial
The prosecutor at Istanbul SSC indicted Eren Keskin, chairwoman of the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) for various press statements. She will be charged with supporting the PKK for the statements of 8 January 2002 "Call to the Universities", 14 February 2002 "Right to Mother Tongue ? Being left without it", 19 March 2002 "Human Rights Bulletin" and 21 March 2002 "Today, 21 March is Newroz Day". The prosecutor alleged that the statements were prepared according to the decisions taken by the PKK on its 7th Congress. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 18, 2002)
Torture in Torbali
On 18 April civilian dressed soldiers from Torbali-Kapikaya Gendarmerie Station detained Ahmet Yildiz in Gediz quarter, Buca district (Izmir). Together with Zeki Kilavuz and Izzet Ensen he was accused of having stolen animals. During the same night lawyer Aykut Dikencik was able to talk to the detainees, who told him that they had been tortured. Lawyer Dikencik informed the lawyersí group for the prevention of torture at Izmir Bar Association. The following day lawyers Özlem Yilmaz, Nergiz Tuba Aslan, Bahattin Özdemir and Ata Türkgülü went to see the detainees, who had been tortured again for having talked about their experience. Zeki Kilavuz told them: "I was detained in the house of Ahmet Yildiz. After we arrived at the gendarmerie station three people covered my mouth with an adhesive tape. I was forced to walk for about one kilometer to the forest. They pointed a pistol to my temple, pushed me so that I was rolling over the ground and beat me with their truncheons on my body and my testicles. I was not allowed to go to the toilet and did not get anything to drink." Ahmet Yildiz said: "At the station they cursed at me. We were taken into a very small room, like a bathroom and stripped stark naked. After 10 minutes the others were told to dress and taken away. To me they said that I was guilty and had to undress again. I was forced to stand the whole time. For 5 to 6 hours I was forced to touch the walls to me left and right with my hands. I was not given anything to eat and not taken to the toilet." Izzet Ensen added that the officers threatened him to kidnap his child, if he did not confess. At 9am the lawyers called the public prosecutor in Torbali. On orders of the prosecutor Zeki Kilavuz was taken to Izmir Atatürk Hospital for Education and Research, accompanied by a lawyer. While the lawyers filed an official complaint against the commander of Torbali Gendarmerie Station, Serif Bek, Torbali Penal Court ordered the arrest of the suspects on charges of theft. The lawyers said that this was the first time that the so-called Istanbul Protocol (for the effective investigation and documentation of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment) was followed under the guidance of the Human Right Foundation of Turkey (TIHV). Even though the result of the medical examination at the Atatürk Hospital had not been satisfactory they had also made sure that a psychological examination was carried out. During the confrontation at the gendarmerie station the victims could identify one of the torturers. They added that this approach prevented further torture. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 18, 2002)
Police Brutality in Izmir
In Ahmetbeyli town, Menderes district (Izmir) Cem Çakabay (23), born in Bingöl, alleged that he lost his job, because he did not address the lance corporal from Ahmetbeyli Gendarmerie Station as "my commander". He had refused to do so during an earlier conversation saying that he had finished his military service. In the evening of 9 May Cem Çakabay was allegedly forced to enter a car of the gendarmerie: "Four officers including the lance corporal by the name of Sükrü took me to a lonesome place. All four of them started to beat me with boards and stripes. I tried to protect my head with my hands, but they took my hands down and beat me at my head. Later they dragged me to the side of the road. I was hardly able to walk home. When I fainted friends took me to the hospital of the Aegean University." Çakabay received a report certifying 3 daysí inability to work and filed and official complaint. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 20, 2002)
Zeki Genç on Trial
On 17 May Beyoglu Penal Court No. 12 continued to hear the case of Zeki Genç, who attacked the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) on 15 November 2001 and his accomplices Bülent Sat and Turgay Araz. The presiding judge presented the report by the Forensic Institute on the mental health of Zeki Genç. The report concluded that he was not mentally disturbed. At the end of the hearing the court decided not be responsible for the case, since the charges should be attempted murder. The file was sent to Beyoglu Criminal Court No. 1. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 17, 2002)
Teachers on Trial
On 17 May Diyarbakir Penal Court finished hearing the testimonies of 1,032 teachers, members of the union Egitim-Sen in Diyarbakir, who had participated in the one-day no-work action on 7 June 2001 in protest against the draft law on trade unions that was on the agenda of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). On 17 May Marmaris Penal Court acquitted 120 teachers, who had participated in the one-day no-work action of the Labor Platform in 1 December 2000. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 18, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
On 16 May the police detained Kazim Bakis, chairman of the trade union for dockworkers "Limter-Is". Reportedly an arrest warrant exists against him for organizing an attack. On 17 May Limter-Is officials Haci Yapici, Hakki Demiral and the worker Sahmettin Yasa from the shipyard in Tuzla were detained. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 17-18, 2002)
Incident in Giresun
The names of the soldiers, who on 16 May were mistakenly killed near Yaglidere district (Giresun), were given as Erkan Dedeoglu and Hüseyin Demircan. The soldiers Murat Sucu and Ferdi Ovali were wounded. (Radikal-TIHV, May 18, 2002)
Police Brutality in Kiziltepe
During the celebrations of the National Youth and Sports Day (19 May) in Kiziltepe (Mardin) the police beat the student Tahir Can, when he did not stand up, when the national anthem was played. His brother, the teacher Erdal Can, was also beaten, when he tried to intervene. The brothers were detained, after Tahir Can was treated in hospital. He received a report certifying inability to work for one week. Erdal Can was released in the evening hours. He filed a complaint against the police officers and the police officers complained against the brothers. (Milliyet-TIHV, May 21, 2002)
Pressure in Prison
Reports from Malatya stated that political prisoners in the E-type prison were held under conditions of an F-type prison. In rooms designed for 4 people 8 prisoners were held. The prisoners complained that things brought by visitors were not given to them and the goods in the canteen were sold at high prices. They werenít allowed to speak Kurdish to the visitors and prisoners did not get the necessary medical treatment. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 21, 2002)
Disciplinary Transfer
An investigation has been started against 28 out of 100 teachers, who on 20 March sent telegrams to Hatay Governor Zeki Sanal in protest at the disciplinary transfer of executives of the teachersí union Egitim-Sen in Iskenderun district (Hatay), Coskun Selçuk (ordered to Kirikhan) and Yilmaz Vurucu (ordered to Hassa). (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 21, 2002)
Lawyer on Trial
On 21 May Ankara SSC No. 1 started to hear the case of lawyer Kazim Bayraktar, charged with supporting an illegal organization. The case is based on material that was found in his office and a speech he held in the United Kingdom. In his testimony Kazim Bayraktar stated that he had spoken on human rights. The book on the incidents in Ulucanlar Prison only presented facts reflected in the autopsy reports. Since no case could be filed under the Law on the Press the prosecution had resorted to Article 169 TPC. He asked for a further investigation against himself, since many more forbidden publications and documents could be found in his office. These documents were the background material for the political trials he followed as defense lawyer, but the police only had confiscated the file on the Revolutionary Communist Union of Turkey (TIKB). The hearing, being attended by 20 defense lawyers, was adjourned to 25 June. Kazim Bayraktar was asked to document the use of money coming from abroad. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 22, 2002)
Death of Süleyman Yeter
On 21 May Istanbul Criminal Court No. 6 continued to hear the case of the police officers Ahmet Okuducu, Mehmet Yutar and Erol Ersan, who are charged with killing the trade unionist Süleyman Yeter under torture on 7 March 1999. The court prolonged the arrest warrant in absentia against Ahmet Okuducu and adjourned the hearing to 17 July. (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 22, 2002)
The Yüksekova Gang
On 21 May the Panel of Chambers at the Court of Cassations rejected the demand by the chief prosecutor to overrule the decision by the 6th Chamber on the so-called "Yüksekova Gang". The 6th Chamber had quashed the verdict by Diyarbakir SSC No. 4 on the grounds of insufficient investigation. On 22 March Diyarbakir SSC 4 had passed its verdict in this case. The 13 defendants included a PKK confessor, high-ranking members of the military and even one mayor. Being charged with drugs and arms smuggling, robbery and other offences the court acquitted Major Hamdi Poyraz, Ali Ihsan Zeydan, former mayor of Yüksekova (Hakkari), lieutenant Ali Kurtoglu, village guard Ismet Ölmez, Hasan Öztunç, Mustafa Koca, Oguz Baygünes and Captain Nihat Yigiter. PKK confessor Kahraman Bilgiç was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, Major Mehmet Emin Yurdakul to 25 years and 2 months imprisonment, Kemal Ölmez, leader of village guards received a sentence of 13 years and 4 months imprisonment, Lieutenant Bülent Yetüt 7 years' and four months' and special team member Enver Cirak 3 years and 8 months' imprisonment. The retrial will be conducted at Hakkari Criminal Court. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 22, 2002)
Refugee Died
The name of the refugee was given as Hidir Akay who died on 22 May as a passenger of the ship "Hayri Reis" with 233 refugees on board and which the border protection force tried to stop,. He reportedly was born in Mardin and died in Girne Hospital (Cyprus). The other refugees are being held at the Akkum Scout Resort in Narlikuyu town. They reported that they had not get anything to eat for three days. The captain of the ship, Ali Can, and four lorry drivers, said to be involved in this case, are under interrogation. In Erzurum province a lorry overturned near Köprüköy district. Of the 35 travelers from Northern Iraq Hiva Fazil Emin (32) lost his life. 13 refugees had to be treated and all of them were detained. (Zaman-TIHV, May 24, 2002)
IHD Executives on Trial
On 23 May Elazig Penal Court No. 1 concluded the trial against Cafer Demir, chairman of the Elazig branch of the IHD, Kenan Çetin, secretary in Elazig and Osman Baydemir, deputy chairman of the IHD headquarter, in connection with speeches during a "Solidarity Night" organized by the Elazig branch on 21 April 2001. The defendants were acquitted from charges of having violated the Law on Association. On 12 April Malatya SSC had also acquitted the same defendants from charges brought under Article 312 TPC. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 24, 2002)
Trade Unionists on Trial
On 23 May Ankara SSC started the retrial of Tekin Yildiz, chairman of the trade union of staff in the judiciary (Tüm Yargi Sen) and 16 board members of the trade union on charges of "aiding and bedding members of an illegal organization". On 6 September 2001 Ankara SSC had convicted Tekin Yildiz, Necdet Bekçi, Edip Binbir, Dursun Öztürk, Yildiz Çakmak, Hürriyet Pinar, Kutluay Öztürk, Ahmet Tanboga, Bekir Akkaya, Figen Öner, Fatma Akkus, Incehan Çaglayan, Erol Çavus, Kamur Emir, Nano Kaya and Ali Yücel Sahin under Article 169 TPC and sentenced them to 45 monthsí imprisonment in connection with a statement on the F-type prisons, but the 9th Chamber of the Court of Cassation had quashed the verdict stating that the defendants should be acquitted. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 24, 2002)
Demonstrators on Trial
The public prosecutor at Malatya SSC has indicted 26 people including Salih Gündogan, chairman of the Labor Party (EMEP) in Tunceli, Deniz Taçyildiz, executive of the Labor Party (EMEP) in Tunceli and the EMEP members Gökhan Gündogan, Gökhan Yilmaz, Hüseyin Dogan, Ali Tütmez and the trade unionist Hidir Demir. They were charged with supporting the PKK, since slogans such as "Long Live Peace" (in Kurdish) and "Education in the Mother Tongue cannot be prevented" were shouted during the demonstration on 8 March, World Womenís Day. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 24, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
In Sivas the students Veyis Sami Selek ve Seyhan Eryilmaz, who had been detained for their alleged membership of the Turkish Communist Workersí Party (TKIP), were arrested on 23 May. In Istanbul the police detained 6 students, who protested against the ban of headscarves in front of Kadiköy Anadolu Theological Lyceum on 23 May. (Evrensel-Yeni Safak-TIHV, May 24, 2002)
Stop Warning
Mümtaz Özdemir, a truck driver, died when soldiers of the gendarmerie shot at his vehicle near Kizilca village in Baskale district (Van), allegedly because he did not follow the "stop order". The official announcement said that the soldiers shot at the tires and a ricochet hit the driver. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 25, 2002)
Death in Prison
Osman Aslan, imprisoned in Izmir-Urla died on 23 May. He was serving a 12 yearsí sentence of imprisonment for membership of the PKK and was under treatment in Yesilyurt State Hospital for a tumor in his brain. He would have been released on 24 July. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 25, 2002)
Police Brutality in Istanbul
On 23 May police officers beat Sevinç Çelenk, mother of a student at Kadiköy Anadolu Theological Lyceum, during a gathering in front of the school in protest at the ban on headscarves. She got a report from hospital and stated that she was beaten with a sharp tool and fists, when the police tried to detain her daughter. (Sabah-TIHV, May 25, 2002)
Attacks by MHP Followers
On 23 May Cem Uzunget, chairman of the studentsí association at the medical faculty of Ankara Gazi University, was attacked by a group of followers of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP). A statement from the studentsí association listed attacks by MHP followers since 20 May: on 6 students from the faculty for professional education, two from the faculty for education and one student from the faculty for technical education. On 23 May MHP followers injured the student Sultan Kara from Istanbul Maltepe Orhangazi Lyceum with a knife. She had to be taken to hospital. In October and November 2001 she had been attacked by MHP followers. ( Evrensel-TIHV, May 25, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
Akif Basaran, who had been detained on 19 May, when he came from Denmark and entered Turkey at Atatürk Airport (Istanbul), was released by the prosecutor at Ankara SSC on 24 May. He was said to be a member of the Kurdistan National Congress. In Elbistan district (Maras) the HADEP members Besey Ay, Oruç Ay, Mehmet Sah Alp, Ertugrul Yildiz, Ali Tas and Abbas Görür, who had been detained on charges of supporting the PKK, were arrested on 26 May. 8 people were released. In Kasrik town (Sirnak) Selahattin Ulas, Abdullah Güngör, Hasan Güngör and Ömer Sanli were detained. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 25-27, 2002)
The Susurluk Scandal
On 24 May Ali Fevzi Bir, who had been convicted in the so-called Susurluk case and sentenced to 4 yearsí imprisonment, was refouled from Germany to Turkey. On 25 May he was put in Kartal Prison (Istanbul) and will have to stay in prison for 467 days. He is currently on trial for bribery in football matches. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 25, 2002)
Isa Armagan Released
On 26 May Isa Armagan was released from Bandirma Prison according to the Law on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences. He had been convicted in connection with an attack on 4 coffeehouses in Balgat (Ankara) on 10 August 1978 and the killing of 5 and injuring 12 left-wing people. For this attack he and Mustafa Pehlivanoglu had been sentenced to death as leaders of the Sheria Command Army of Turkey (TÜSKO) and the attempt to establish a State according to the order of the síharia according to Article 149/2 TPC. 10 days after the verdict had been confirmed in 1980 both prisoners were rescued from Mamak Military Prison. Pehlivanoglu was captured after the military coup of 12 September and executed on 7 October 1980. Isa Armagan escaped to the Iran and fought against Iraq. On 27 August 1992 he was captured in Germany and on 30 May 1995 he was refouled to Turkey. According to the Law to Fight Terrorism (1991) his death sentence was commuted to 10 yearsí imprisonment and a sentence of 18 yearsí imprisonment for robbery was commuted to 45 monthsí imprisonment. Answering a question tabled by MP Ramazan Toprak from the Party for Justice and Development (AKP) Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Türk said that 382.977 people benefited from the Law on Conditional Release and Suspension of Sentences and 40.158 people had been released on the basis of this law. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 27, 2002)
Refugees Killed
Erzincan Governor Halil Ibrahim Altinok announced that three migrants, two from Afghanistan and one from Bangladesh, were killed near the village Aksu. He stated that the migrants had opened fire on the security forces and were captured dead together with their arms. Another 30 migrants were captured alive. Further detentions of people entering or leaving the country illegally were reported from Van (110), Edirne (50) and Gebze (8). (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 28, 2002)
Incident in Istanbul
Burak Yapici (26), who was injured on 22 May, when he tried to enter Bakirköy Police HQ. in Istanbul, died in Bakirköy State Hospital on 27 May. He had been shot in his leg and stomach and reportedly died because of poisoned blood. His brother Safak Yapici stated that his brother had been under treatment at Bakirköy Hospital for Mentally Diseases for the last six months. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 28, 2002)
The Manisa Trial
On 27 May Manisa Criminal Court continued the trial against 10 police officers, charged with having tortured 16 juveniles between 26 December 1995 and 5 January 1996. For three times the hearing had been adjourned giving the defendants time to appoint new lawyers, yet not all defendants have replied. Lawyer Serhan Özbek, chairman of Manisa Bar Association, acting for the sub-plaintiffs, repeated his fear that the police officers may go without punishment, because of lapse of time. The court adjourned the hearing to 17 June. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 28, 2002)
Stop Warning
On 27 May Ali Kalabay (26) was shot dead in Istanbul-Kadiköy. Allegedly he tried to enter the flat of his lover and shot at the police officers, which tried to prevent him. When he tried to run away he was shot dead. Officials stated that he was first hit into his leg, but continued to fire at the police officers. (Milliyet-TIHV, May 29, 2002)
The Devrimci Yol Trial
On 28 May Ankara Criminal Court No. 6 continued to hear the case of 23 defendants from the Devrimci Yol (Revolutionary Path) Trial that had originally started at Ankara Military Court on 18 October 1982. The verdict of 19 July 1989 had been quashed on 27 December 1995 for 23 defendants on the grounds that these defendants should have been sentenced to death. The hearing was adjourned to 27 June for a new judge to study the files. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 29, 2002)
Trial for Protesting the USA
On 28 May Bakirköy Penal Court No. 3 continued to hear the case of 50 people, who on 29 September 2001 had participated in a protest meeting against the US attack on Afghanistan. Eren Keskin, chairwoman of the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and Ahmet Mercan, chairman of the Istanbul branch of the human rights organization Mazlum-Der, are among the defendants. The hearing was adjourned to 11 September. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 29, 2002)
Detentions and Arrests
In Istanbul Selma Kaan, Derya Gökmen (staff of the journal "Devrim Yolunda Isçi Köylü") and Ilyas Ekinci, working for the Culture Center "Tohum", were detained, when they put up posters in commemoration of Ibrahim Kaypakkaya, who founded the Turkish Communist Party/ML-Workersí and Peasants Liberation Army of Turkey (TKP/ML TIKKO). (Evrensel-TIHV, May 29, 2002)
Refugees Drowned
Four out of 39 refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who had crossed the border to the Iran illegally, drowned, when they entered reeds near Örtülü village in Dogubeyazit district (Agri). Officials stated that the unidentified persons tried to hide, but 35 had been captured. They will be returned, while the dead refugees will be buried in Dogubeyazit. (NTV-TIHV, May 29, 2002)
Death in Prison
In Bolu Closed Prison Müjdat Kanze committed suicide. His corpse was found on 29 May. He was imprisoned for raping his sister. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 30, 2002)
The "Egyptian Bazaar" Case
On 29 May Istanbul SSC No. 4 continued to hear the case of 15 defendants in connection with an explosion in the "Egyptian Bazaar" on 9 July 1998 that resulted in the death of 7 and injuries of 120 people. This time defendant Alaattin Öget stated that he did not want to be a confessor and claimed that earlier testimonies against Pinar Selek and other defendants had been extracted under pressure. He warned Pinar Selek, who was present as non-remanded defendant, to be careful, because she might be killed. Defendant Kadriye Sevgi Kübra, who earlier had stated that she wanted to benefit from the Repentance Law, said that she did not know Pinar Selek and the other defendants. In this trial the death penalty is demanded for the defendants Pinar Selek, Abdülmecit Öztürk (under arrest), Alaattin Öget (under arrest), Isa Kaya (under arrest) and Kadriye Sevgi Kübra (under arrest) according to Article 125 TPC. For the defendants Baran Öztürk, Heval Öztürk (under arrest), Ercan Alir, Masallah Yagin (under arrest), Delibas Arat, Menderes Öget, Erkan Öget, Hasan Kiliçdogan, Alican Öget and Suat Kaya the prosecutor has demanded sentences of between 3 and 31 yearsí imprisonment. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 30, 2002)
Incidents in Akkise
The case against officer Ali Çaliskan concerning the events in Akkise (Konya) on 9 August 2001 continued at Seydisehir Criminal Court on 29 May. The incident in Akkise started when two people could not identify themselves during a check by the gendarmerie. The officer Ali Çaliskan came with some 100 soldiers and Hasan Gültekin (21) was killed, Sami Tokmak, Kemal Candan and Ismet Tasbasi were injured. A trial against 52 soldiers and 22 civilians is continuing at Ahirli Penal Court. The soldiers are charged with "ill-treatment", while the civilians are charged with "damaging public property" and "resisting the security forces". (Evrensel-TIHV, May 30, 2002)
Teachers on Trial
On 29 May Eyüp Penal Court No. 2 continued to hear the case of 53 teachers, who had participated in the one-day-no-work action on 1 December 2000. 17 teachers were present and stated that they did not intend to delay their work and the decision for the action had been taken by the Labour Platform. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 30, 2002)
Attacks and Clashes
A clash between militants of the Turkish Communist Party/ML-Workersí and Peasants Liberation Army of Turkey (TKP/ML TIKKO) and the security forces was reported to have occurred on the Bektas Plateau on Dereli district (Giresun) on 28 May. Murat Akkaya, member of a special team, was wounded and taken to Bulancak State Hospital. From here he was taken to a hospital in Giresun (Yedinci Gündem-TIHV, May 30, 2002)
Refugees Drowned and Frozen to Death
At Maydanoz shore in Menderes district (Izmir) the corpses of five migrants from Pakistan were found in the night of 29 May. One of them was identified as Hamid Mahmut. Major Feyyaz Alev, commander of the gendarmerie forces in Izmir, announced that since the beginning of the year 1,127 illegal migrants had been captured, the majority being from Iraq (454) and Turkey (234) followed by Afghanistan (130) and Pakistan (118). 21 persons, one of them from Greece, had been captured as organizers. Van Governor Durmus Koç declared that the corpses of 19 people had been found near Asagi Gülderen village in Çaldiran district (Van). Presumably the corpses belonged to illegal migrants from Afghanistan, who had frozen do death about one-and-half months ago, when the snow in that region had been 3 to 4 meters thick. Nine of the corpses were children. Seven corpses were buried in Çaldiran. Others will be buried after the autopsy. On 29 May 22 migrants from Iraq were captured in Çaldiran on a lorry. (Cumhuriyet-TIHV, May 31, 2002)
Pressure in Prison
The human rights organization Mazlum-Der issued a 7-page report on the
situation in Kocaeli and Bolu F-type Prison. The report is based on observations
made by the lawyers Turgay Özdemir and Mustafa Ercan and was announced
by Ahmet Mercan, chairman of the Istanbul branch of Mazlum-Der. Prisonersí
relatives participating in the press conference of 30 May complained that
the prisoners often were wounded because of beatings by the guardians.
The prisoners were not allowed to pray and the time of visits was restricted
because the visitors were taken in one after the other. The report stated
that prisoners had been stripped stark naked for body searches and one
prisoner had been beaten, when he objected. The prisoners, who wanted to
pray, were disturbed by loud music. The prisoners are not allowed to watch
the TV station of their choice. Only little food is given and the food
in the canteen is very expensive. The water in the cells is not drinkable
and the prisoner can only take showers with warm water once a week. Communication
with other prisoners can only be done in writing and possibilities for
sports are not granted. The Ankara branch of the Human Rights Association
(IHD) published a 6-page report on the situation in Sincan F-type Prison.
Speaking for Ankara IHD Saadet Erdem stated that the prisoners Halil Koçyigit
and Hidir Demir had lost their lives not because of the death fast action,
but the bad prison conditions. The report claimed that systematic ill-treatment
was continuing. The complaints were not investigated. Most letters of the
prisoners were given back, because they commented on the death fast action.
Quoting from 55 complaints by the prisoners the report stated that prisoners
on hunger strike had forcibly been taken to hospital, newspapers and journals
were not handed over, visits of lawyers were restricted, documents for
the defense were not handed over, prices in the canteen were very high
and deposited money was not handed over to them. (Evrensel-TIHV, May 31,
2002)
POLITIQUE INTERIEURE / INTERIOR POLICY
La Turquie gouvernée depuis l'hôpital
Un Premier ministre qui gouverne depuis l'hôpital, un pays qui vit au rythme des communiqués de ses médecins : la Turquie est entrée dans une ère d'incertitude au moment où elle doit se colleter avec les problèmes cruciaux de son adhésion à l'UE et de sa crise économique.
"Cela rappelle l'ère soviétique, l'époque des maladies de Tchernenko, Andropov et les autres", déplore un diplomate occidental sous couvert de l'anonymat.
Bulent Ecevit, qui fêtera mardi ses 77 ans, a été hospitalisé à deux reprises en deux semaines. Il souffre officiellement d'une côte gauche cassée et d'une thrombophlébite à la jambe.
Mais sa santé "est bonne", ne cesse-t-il de répéter. Il refuse tous les appels à la démission et préfère gouverner depuis l'hôpital de Baskent, où il a convoqué mardi un sommet des dirigeants de sa coalition qui devait en principe se consacrer aux réformes à entreprendre pour que la Turquie puisse ouvrir des négociations d'adhésion avec l'Union européenne.
Pas question pour M. Ecevit d'abandonner le pouvoir ou même de passer le relais au sein de son parti de la Gauche démocratique (DSP). Il fait valoir que son départ serait catastrophique pour la stabilité du pays et par là même, pour la guérison de son économie en crise.
"On est de plus en plus dans une situation à l'italienne", commente un analyste économique occidental sous couvert de l'anonymat. "Il n'y a plus d'Etat, le gouvernement ne travaille plus depuis un mois et demi. Mais sans Etat, ça tient tout seul", remarque-t-il.
La question est de savoir combien de temps.
Les marchés, très nerveux lundi lorsque M. Ecevit a été de nouveau hospitalisé pour "au moins une semaine", se sont entre-temps calmés. La livre turque a perdu du terrain face au dollar, mais les analystes notent que cette correction était bienvenue dans la mesure où elle était surévaluée.
"Il faudrait que l'on se retrouve avec une perspective et des visibilités, il faudrait organiser des élections anticipées", avant la date prévue de 2004, souligne cet analyste, selon qui "leur effet ne serait pas catastrophique et il n'y aura pas de fuite massive de capitaux comme en 2001", moment où avait éclaté une grave crise économique déclenchée par M. Ecevit.
Il avait alors annoncé qu'une "crise" l'opposait au président Ahmet Necdet Sezer, détruisant toute confiance dans la stabilité du gouvernement alors que la Turquie se relevait à peine d'une crise financière.
Déjà à l'époque, les appels à la démission d'un Premier ministre visiblement inconscient des effets que sa déclaration devait provoquer s'étaient multipliés.
Entre-temps, son gouvernement a mis en oeuvre une série de réformes structurelles sous la houlette du Fonds monétaire international (FMI) et avec une aide record du Fonds de 16 milliards de dollars, qui ont posé des gardes-fous.
Mais la précarité de plus en plus évidente de la santé de M. Ecevit, parfois incapable de marcher seul ou tenant des propos confus --plusieurs fois ces derniers mois, devant la presse, il a appelé son homologue israélien Ariel Sharon "Monsieur Sheraton"-- a fait ressurgir les appels à la démission.
Pourtant, les autres dirigeants de sa coalition, Mesut Yilmaz du parti de la Mère patrie (ANAP, centre-droit) et Devlet Bahceli du Parti de l'Action nationaliste (MHP, ultra-nationaliste), freinent des quatre fers, et la situation menace de durer.
"Aucun d'entre eux ne veut d'élections anticipées", souligne
un analyste occidental. "Yilmaz a peur de disparaître du parlement
en obtenant moins des 10% des voix nécessaires. Et Bahceli craint
de se faire déborder sur sa droite car il a oublié ses engagements
antérieurs, notamment sa campagne pour faire pendre Ocalan (le chef
de la rébellion kurde condamné à mort en juin 1999)",
note-t-il. (Florence Biedermann, AFP, 23 mai 2002)
The sick man of Turkey isn't Ecevit, but the system itself
In 1566, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Lawmaker set out with his army to lay siege to the fortress of Zigetvar despite his ailing health and advanced age. His troops were on the verge of victory when he suddenly died in his tent. Desperate to keep the news secret, his chief minister, Mehmet Sokullu Pasa, arranged for his body to be embalmed, propped up on the back of a horse and ridden back to Istanbul, where eventually the sultan's death was formally announced.
Recalling that incident in the newspaper Yeni Safak, Turkish columnist Fehmi Koru wrote: "Tricks played on sick or elderly statesmen are a familiar part of our history."
They remain so in modern Turkey ? republican, "democratic," secular Turkey ? and in the age of transparency and globalized mass media from which no secrets can be kept.
A case in point is what happened to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit after he was taken seriously ill on May 4 and rushed to hospital, reportedly suffering from severe stomach and back pains. Within 26 hours, it was announced that the premier had recovered and been sent home.
In the following days, no official medical report revealing the truth about Ecevit's condition was published. But the prevailing conviction in Ankara is that this time, the illness of the prime minister, who prior to his hospitalization relied on steroids to give him some energy and vitality, is no ordinary matter. Everyone views it as signaling the final demise, in political terms at least, of a statesman and leader who has left a powerful mark on Turkish politics over the past three decades.
The illness of a political leader would not be of such major import, or arouse such intense concern, had Turkey's political and economic health not been in such critical shape, and so intimately bound up with the survival of a single man.
Ecevit was resurrected politically after Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan was forced out of office in June 1997. Indeed, Ecevit was virtually reinvented. The left-wing pro-labor politician of the 1970s became the enforcer of policies from the International Monetary Fund and head of a coalition government under which Turkey witnessed the biggest financial corruption scandals it has ever known. He is now the key to the stability of both the government and the party political system. His absence would turn many things on their heads and could lead to a complete reformation of the country's internal political dynamics, and perhaps its external relations as well.
There is no doubt that Ecevit is "the army's man" in the political echelon. His coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli, leader of the National Movement Party (MHP), whose far-right credentials would cause problems in Turkey's foreign relations, cannot fill his shoes.
Nor could Ecevit be replaced by junior partner Mesut Yilmaz of the Motherland Party (ANAP), whom the army generals do not fully trust and with whom they are at odds over relations with the European Union, which he enthusiastically champions.
Above all, it is on Ecevit that the military relies in its self-proclaimed "1,000-year war" against the Islamists. Both Bahceli and Yilmaz are reluctant to carry that war all the way, in deference to the conservative and religious components of their respective parties' constituencies.
Since the April 1999 parliamentary elections, it is Ecevit who has held the coalition together. The MHP (which currently has the same number of legislators ? 127 ? as Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP), would not countenance allowing the premiership to pass to ANAP (which only has 78 lawmakers) under Yilmaz's leadership.
Indeed, Bahceli would also be unlikely to accept any DSP head of government other than Ecevit. This is not only because there is no one of real stature in Ecevit's party to succeed him. It is also because his most likely successor, his wife Rahsan, is at loggerheads with Bahceli's followers ? whom she famously described as thugs who wrought death and havoc on the streets in the 1970s.
Thus, the demise or retirement of the premier, 76, would certainly cause a coalition crisis that would damage the "centers of power" that stand behind the government, above all the military establishment.
"What do you do when the prime minister falls ill in a country in which nothing is healthy?" asked commentator Bekin Coskun in the daily Hurriyet. "In democracies, such conditions are remedied by holding elections."
But in the current circumstances, early elections ? the next parliamentary polls are not due until 2004 ? are a nightmare that no one in the government, or in the centers of power, wants to see come true.
So long as Ecevit survives, they can be avoided. But his absence would make the survival of the coalition untenable and early elections unavoidable. That's why the political and military powers that be are bent on keeping Ecevit as prime minister, irrespective of the state of his health and the cortisone injections he needs. Hence also his speedy discharge from hospital, to signal that it is business as usual on the political and economic fronts, and that there is no cause for concern seeing as the prime minister has recovered and is well.
But the "trick" the regime has resorted to this time is not convincing. Its options are few, and things seem set to become increasingly complicated.
"Turkey, which is a candidate for accession to the EU and which the US administration holds up as a 'democratic model' for the Islamic world, should change its political parties and election legislation, prepare for national polls and renew the political class in a way that reflects the popular will," says leading analyst Cengiz Candar.
"But Turkey isn't doing that. Consequently, the political system is extremely fragile and prone to rapid collapse," he explains.
So why doesn't Turkey, which claims to be a democracy and a model for others to emulate, simply hold early elections?
The answer is simple and doesn't require profound analysis: For over a year ? i.e., nothing to do with Ecevit's illness ? all the public opinion surveys have indicated that none of the three coalition parties ? the parties, that is, of the centers of power ? would be able to muster enough votes to even cross the 10 percent threshold required to gain seats in Parliament.
Moreover, the public opinion surveys show that the party that would win the most votes is the Justice and Development Party, whose Islamist leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been reaching out to all sectors of Turkish society ? advocating a democratic state that respects individual liberties and human rights and opposing the establishment of a state based on religious foundations.
If Ecevit were to depart the scene before the coalition parties manage to regain a modicum of public trust, the military and economic centers of power would face what for them would be the appalling prospect of Erdogan emerging as unassailable head of government.
Accordingly, their game plan is to keep Ecevit alive and in office by whatever means that takes, while seeking to wreck Erdogan's political future, even if that involves his political "assassination." That is the motive behind the attempts to put him on trial, and thus have him banned from leading his party or standing for election, enabling the regime to call parliamentary polls in which Erdogan does not participate.
Commentator Hassan Cemal remarked in the Milliyet daily that Ecevit has become the mainstay of Turkish politics. "Nothing is clear after Ecevit," he wrote. "The entire political structure could collapse."
But one thing is certain. The "sick man" of Turkey is not Bulent Ecevit,
but the political system itself. (Mohammad Noureddine, Daily Star ? Beirut,
May 18, 2002)
PM's illness puts Turkey on the brink of collapse
The coalition government in Turkey held a summit meeting in a hospital ward yesterday as the increasingly frail Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit, faced growing calls to step down due to ill health.
The country's political and economic future may well hang on Mr Ecevit's health, and his illness has set alarm bells ringing in Ankara and abroad. Newspapers have speculated for several months that Mr Ecevit suffers from a disease of the nervous system that also impairs his motor skills. He has appeared shaky and made several public blunders. But the ruling elite is desperate to keep Mr Ecevit, a staunch secularist, in power because he has no natural successor and there are fears that his departure would lead to a return to power for Islamists.
"Nothing is clear after Ecevit," said a commentator in the Milliyet daily, Hasan Cemal. "The entire political structure could collapse."
The 76-year-old veteran leader was admitted to the hospital on Friday - the second time in 10 days. He is being treated for an infection in his leg and a cracked rib sustained in a fall, apparently off a chair. As the country struggles to climb out of its worst recession since the Second World War, the sight of Mr Ecevit inching his way up hospital steps sent the Turkish currency to its lowest point since last autumn, and the stock market plummeted.
The leaders of the three-party coalition met at the Ankara Baskent hospital where Mr Ecevit is being treated. They issued a statement afterwards ruling out an early election. "An end to the debate about early elections would be good for the country and the economy," they said.
But political opponents demanded medical proof that Mr Ecevit was fit to govern. "We want the results of a full medical inquiry to be disclosed to the public," said the leader of the opposition True Path Party, Tansu Ciller, in the daily newspaper, Hurriyet.
Mr Ecevit's resignation would almost certainly upset the delicate left-right coalition, leading to early elections, and could derail an economic rescue plan backed by the International Monetary Fund.
Early elections are a nightmarish prospect for Ankara's strictly secularist establishment and military - a powerful force behind the scenes - as all opinion polls indicate voters would overwhelmingly return the pro-Islamist Justice and Development Party to power. None of the three current ruling parties looks likely to even cross the 10 per cent threshold needed to win seats in parliament.
Economic hardship, the tough IMF programme and politics as usual have not been popular.
Mr Ecevit was resurrected as a viable political alternative after the former Islamist prime minister Necmettin Erbakan was forced out of office in a "soft coup" in 1997.
A pro-labour leftist in the 1970s, he has led Turkey's IMF-backed economic recovery plan since taking office in 1999. His brand of old-school secularism does not resonate as much with his coalition partners, Devlet Bahceli of the far-right Nationalist Action Party, and Mesut Yilmaz of the liberal Motherland Party, who are more concerned not to alienate their religious and conservative constituencies. Neither is there an heir apparent in his Democratic Left Party, which Mr Ecevit and his wife, Rahsan, have led with an iron fist for the best part of three decades.
Public opinion polls show the Islamist leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan would almost certainly lead if early elections were to be held this year.
Mr Erdogan, former mayor of Istanbul, was jailed for 10 months in 1998
on sedition charges. He now says he advocates a model of Islamic democracy.
But the generals are deeply sceptical of Mr Erdogan's rhetoric and are
unlikely to allow the party back in power.(Independent, 22 May 2002)
Ceylan resignation upsets DSP-MHP parliamentary equality
The resignation of Sivas deputy Mehmet Ceylan from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has upset the equality of the number of seats the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and the MHP were having in Parliament.
With the resignation of Ceylan, now the MHP has 126 seats, while Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's DSP has 127 seats. The difference between the two parties is expected to increase to two with Bulent Ersin Gok, who had resigned from the DSP a while ago, returning to his party in the days ahead.
Ceylan was having some problems in the MHP for sometime and political observers close to the nationalist party have been speculation for quite some time that he would quit the party. Ceylan is expected to act together with Abdulhaluk Cay, the MHP state minister who after holding a convention of Turkish speaking countries, despite opposition of MHP leader Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli, was sacked from his post by Ecevit at the request of Bahceli. Cay is anticipated to quit the MHP in the next few weeks and form a new nationalist party. Political observers claimed that several other MHP deputies would resign from the nationalist party together with Cay.
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament after he quit the MHP, Ceylan denied claims that he could join the Great Unity Party (BBP), an outside of Parliament nationalist party. He said "We are after a greater unity in nationalist front."
Ceylan, who bitterly attacked both his party and the three-way coalition government, said he had a 90-minute telephone conversation with MHP leader Bahceli, Tuesday evening. He said Bahceli requested him not to resign, but he had already made up his mind.
The nationalist deputy said he resigned from the party in order to make the voice of the nationalist masses heard. "I hope my resignation will help efforts of establishing union of nationalist movement," Ceylan said and accused the MHP of abandoning its ideals and party platform after joining in the three-way coalition government.
He charged that the three-way coalition government and leaders of the
three parties were committing a crime, by unlawfully keeping the death
file of separatist Kurdish chieftain Abdullah Ocalan at the Prime Ministry
and not submitting it to Parliament for approval. (Turkish Daily News,
May 17, 2002)
Murat Karayalcin establishes new SHP
Former state minister and deputy prime minist